Leather-skiving machine



No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

P. L. KUHN.

LEATHER SKIVING MACHINE.

No. 427,579. I Patented'May 13,1890.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

F. L. KUHN. LEATHER SKIVING MACHINE.

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UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

FREDERICK LEIVIS KUIIN, OF LUNENBURG, ASSIGNOR TO ELIJAII M. DICKINSON AND CHARLES P. DICKINSON, BOTII OF FITOHBURG,

MASSACHUSETTS.

LEATHER-SKIVING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,579, dated May 13, 1890.

Application filed March 5,1890- Serial No. 342,694. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown thatI, Fnnnnnrcn Ln w1s KUHN, of Lunenburg, in the county of lVorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leather-Skiving-Machines, of which the fol lowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to leather-skiving machines, and especially to that class of such machines in which a mold having an outline corresponding to the outline of the piece of leather to be skived and a depth varying according to the varying thickness to be given to the article when skived is formed in the periphery of a cylinder or a segment of a cylinder and used in combination with a grooved feed-roll and a series of spring-operated pressure fingers or levers, which act to force the piece of leather hard against the bottom of said mold, and a knife for cutting away all of the stock which projects beyond the periphery of said cylinder or segment; and it consists in certain novel features of construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be readily understood by reference to the description of the drawings and to the claims hereinafter given, and in which my invention is clearly pointed out.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a front side ele- .vation of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of same. Fig. 3 is a partial rear end elevation of the same. Figs. at and 5 are plans of two forms of counter or heel stiffener blanks for the skiving, of which my invention is especially adapted.

My invention is an improvement upon the inventions described in the Letters Patent Nos. 220,286, 230,280, and 250,734, granted to Merritt A. Holton October 7, 1870, July 20, 1880, and December 13, 1881, respectively.

In the drawings, A is the frame or stand of the machine. B is the table upon which the pile of blanks is supported. 0 is the molded roll. 1) is the grooved feed-roll. E is the gage-board against which the pile of blanks is placed. F is the skiving-knife. G is the spring for pressing the grooved feed-roll upward. H H are the presser-iingers for forcing the blank into the recess or mold formed in the periphery of the roll C, said fingers being pivoted at a and having their rear ends drawn downward by the spring I), all constructed and operating substantially as de scribed in the Letters Patent Nos. 230,280 and 250,734, before cited.

The front side of the table B has formed therein a longitudinal slot 0, extending downward from its upper surface and connecting with another slot cl, extending inward from the front edge of said table, as shown in sec lion in Fig. 3. In the slot 0 is fitted, so as to be movable endwise therein, the bar 6, having formed upon its upper edge a dovetailed guideway e to receive the cross-head I, and has formed upon its ends the upwardly-projecting ears f and g, in bearings in which is mounted the adj HShlllg-SOTGW h, which works in a female thread in the ear 1', projecting upward from the cross-head I, to move said cross-head lengthwise of the guideway e. In

.the slot (1 is fitted the block j, which is firmly secured to the bar 6, and extends to the front edge of the table B, and is movable endwise with the bar 6.

The cross-head I is provided with a tongue or arm I, projecting therefrom toward the gage-board E, and has fitted thereto, so as to be adjustable toward and from said gageboard by means of the thumb-screw 7a, the block J, which has secured thereto the feeding-plate J, made of a thickness not greater than the thickness of a blank to be skived.

So far the machine is constructed substantially as shown and described in the Letters Patent No. 250,734.

In the before-cited patents the feedingplate was moved toward and from the feed and molded rolls and the skiving-knife by a crank and simple connecting rod or link conn ectiug said crank to the block and bar which carried the feed-plate, the stroke of said crank and feed-plate being only sufficient to feed the blank forward until its end was seized between the rollers, when the feed-plate was retracted. This arrangement and operation of the feed plate has been found to be obj ectionable, for the reason that the blank, when released from the guiding influence of the feedplate at the moment when it is seized by the rolls, would often be turned from a direct line, so as to pass between the rolls in a more or less oblique position relative to the line of movement which it should take, and as a 0011- sequence the blank would be spoiled. This difficulty has been found to be quite serious when skiving some kind of counters or heelstiffenerssuch, for instance, as are of extra length and have very pointed ends and curved or angular bottoms, as shown in Fig. 5. To obviate this difficulty, I connect the link Zat one end to the, block j and at the other end to the upper end of the lever K, which is pivoted at m and provided with the longitudinal slot on, in which is adjustably secured the pivot-pin m upon which is mounted one end of the rod L, the opposite end of which is fitted to move end wise in the swiveling hub M, set in the stand M, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The rod L has formed thereinat about the middle of its length the laterally-projecting bar or yoke L, having formed in its inner face the rectangular slot 77., extending at right angles to the length of said rod L, and in which is fitted, so as to slide lengthwise thereof, the block n, fitted upon the crank-pin set in the crank N, secured upon the shaft of the feedroll D, as shown. By this construction of the feed-operating mechanism I am enabled to make the feed-plate follow up the blank for a considerable distance after the rolls have seized it, or until the blank has passed. between the rolls a sufficient distance to bring the bite of the rolls upon the broad part of the blank, after which there is no tendency of the blank to swivel or get out of line.

I make the throw of the crank N and the proportions of the lever K such as to impart to the feed-plate J a reciprocating motion toward and from the feed-rolls of a length equal to about one-half the length of the 'blank to be skived plus the distance the feedplate has to move before the blank is seized by the rolls. By doing this the feed-plate will move near enough in unison with the surface of the feed-roll for, say, about two inches after the blank is seized'by the roll to remain in contact with said blank during the time that the blank is being drawn between said rolls for about one-third (more or.

less) of its length. The feed-plate is composed of two plates J and J the latter being detachably secured to the former by the strap or arm J 3 and the screws n M, and has its forward edge formed to fit the rear end of the blank, as shown in Fig. 2.

When thecounter to be skived is of the form shown in Fig. 5, the part J 2 of the feed-plate is of the form shown in full lines in Fig. 2;

but if the counter to be skived is of the form shown in Fig. 4 the part J of the feed-plate will be shaped as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, or, in other Words,- the part J of the feed-plate will be so shaped as to fit closely around the end of the blank that is to be skived, so that while the feed-plate follows closely the blank as it is passing between the rolls it cannot be deflected from the proper straight line of movement.

By the use of the lever K and rod L, having the slotted yoke L, and a proper adj ustment of connection of the rod L to the lever K the movement of the feed-plate may be made substantially uniform with the movement of the periphery of the feed-roll during the time that the crank-pin is moving through the center portion of its movement toward he feed-roll, andthe plate J will effectually.

prevent the rear end of the blank from moving laterally during the time that the front portion-say about one-third of the length of the blankis being passed between the rolls.

In the machines described in the Letters Patent Nos. 230,280 and 250,7 34:, before cited, the short arms of the pressure-fingers were forced upward to press the blank into the recess in the molded roll by spiral springs connected to and acting upon the long arms of said fingers or levers, the lower ends of said springs being attached to pins set in a rib cast upon and projecting upward from the base of the frame, the downward movement of the rear ends of said pressure-levers being limited by a stop-bar.

The presser-levers, being necessarilyquite thin and having a small bearing upon the blank, were soon found to wear away to such an extent that it became necessary to adjust the stop-bar so that the rear ends of the levers could drop to a lower level in order that the short arms which act upon the blank could rise sufiiciently to press the blank hard against the recess or mold in the roll, and it has also been found that a constant wearing away of the operating ends of the levers and readjustment of the stop-bar would after a while so reduce the tension of the springs that it became necessary to shorten them or substitute new ones, which was troublesome and expensive. To obviate this difficulty I attach the lower ends of the springs Z) to pins 0' set in the tension-regulatin g bar 0, made separate from the frame and movable vertically on the studs P P, set in the base of the frame A, said studs having screw-threads formed upon their upper portions, to which are fitted the nuts 0 0, by turning which the bar 0 may be depressed to a lower level in order to 1naintain the springs at their normal or appropriate tension when the stop-bar Q is adjusted to a lower level to compensate for the wear of the pressure-levers. v

The gage-board E has a lipped rib 13 secured to its front end, which extends from its upper edge to apoint sufficiently distant from the upper surface of the table B to permit the bottom blank of a pile to be fed beneath the lower end of said rib. Said gage-board also has adj ustably secured thereto the frame R, to which are pivoted the two radius-arms q q, projecting from the vertical bar S, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The lipped rib p and ad- ITO justable vertical bar S serve as guides to hold the pile of blanks in position, and are constructed and operate substantially the same as shown and described in the Letters Patent No. 250,734, before cited.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a machine for skiving shoe-counters or heel-stiffeners, having a recessed mold corresponding in outline and depth to the outline and varying thickness to be given to the skivcd counter, a grooved feed-roll, a series of pressure-levers adapted to press the blank into said mold, and a knife for cutting away the stock which projects beyond the outer face of said mold, the combination, with said mold, feed-roll, pressure'levers, and knife, of a feed plate constructed and arranged to partially surround and fit to the shape of the rear end of a blank, a cross -head carrying said feed-plate, a revolving crank, a slotted vibrating lever, a reciprocating rod adj ustably connected at one end to said lever and mounted at its other end in 'a swiveling bearing, and having formed therewith or connected there- ,to a slotted yoke arranged transversely thereof and engaging with said crank, and a connection between the movable end of said slotted vibratinglever and said cross-head, all constructed, arranged, and adapted to reciprocate said feed-plate toward and from the feed-roll and to cause it to follow said blank and keep in contact therewith until about one-third (more or less) of the blank has passed between the feed-roll and mold.

2. In a machine for skiving leather, the combination, with a mold sunk in a cylindrical or curved surface movable about the axis of said curve, a grooved feed-roll, a series of pressure-levers, and a stationary knife,

of the feed-plate J J the cross-head I, the sliding bar and block 0 and j, the link Z, the vibrating lever K, provided with the slot m, the rod L, provided with the slotted transverse bar or yoke L, the crank N, carrying upon its pin the block or, fitted to and movable in the slot in said yoke, and the swiveling support M for the bar L, all constructed, arranged, and adapted to operate substantially as described.

3. In combination with a recessed mold, a series of pressure-levers for pressing the blank into said mold, a stop-bar for limiting the movement of said levers in one direction, and suitable screws for adjusting said stop-bar vertically, a tension-adjusting bar provided with a series of laterally-projecting pins or lugs, a series of springs each connected to one of said pressure-levers by one end and by its other end to one of said laterally-projecting pins of the tension-bar, and suitable screws or screws and nuts for adjusting said tensionbar vertically, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. In combination with a recessed mold and a series of pressure-levers, the vertical thread ed studs P P, the bar O,provided with pins 0' and mounted on said studs, the springs 79 1), connected at one end to said levers and at the other end to the pins r, and the adjustingnuts 0 0, all constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed, my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, on this 25th day of February, A. D. 1890.

FREDERICK LEWIS KUHN.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR PATCH, A. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 

